Internet Researcher: Date_
South America and Africa are drifting slowly apart. What powerful force could be moving these two plates? In this Internet Workshop, you will be introduced to and observe the movement of convection currents and you will determine how convection currents in Earth’s mantle could move tectonic plates.
The Theory of Continental Drift has had a long and turbulent history since it was first proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1910. Vigorously challenged yet widely ignored, the theory was considered for half a century, primarily due to its deceptive truth to support the proposed drift. With the discovery of sea-floor spreading in the late 1950's and early 60's, the idea was given new life, this time as the Theory of Plate Tectonics. Plate tectonics is now almost universally accepted, its mechanisms plausible and to a degree demonstrable. However, many details of the mechanism are yet to be worked out, and many theories involving various details of plate tectonics rest on some questionable assumptions. These links will attempt to define some of the basic principles of the mechanism, and to examine their effect on the creation of landforms. What you’ll learn are many new, and probably highly controversial, ideas presented for consideration. What is presented in these sites is a broad analysis of the basic principles that should apply to the movements of plates, some new hypotheses about how they apply to convection and landform formation, and some expected scenarios for differing tectonic events.
1. Learn about Tectonic Plates. Go to http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/dynamic.html
Dynamic Earth: The story of Plate Tectonics. Feel free to read and learn about anything here, however check out the information on “Plate Tectonics and People” and “Some Unanswered Questions”. Be prepared to discuss Mount Pinatubo, and Earths Layers. Illustrate and label all Earth layers and define the key characteristics of each.
2. What happens at a divergent boundary? What happens when tectonic plates scrape past each other at Transform Boundaries? What happens at convergent boundaries? http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0804/es0804page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization Use this site to see the actual simulation of each of the three types of boundary collisions. Then go to http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate4.htm to get an in depth description of what is really happening at each boundary. What do you find most intriguing about these events? Write down and illustrate what you learned about these types of boundaries and be prepared to sequence the events of each (continental-continental collision, oceanic-continental collision, and oceanic-oceanic plate collision) in our Internet workshop
3. Problems for ‘slow and gradual’ plate tectonics. Learn about Sea-Floor rock and Magnetic Reversals
Go to this website and scroll down to the article on “Driving the Drift”.http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=65 Take notes on what you learned and what geologist was credited for this finding. Be prepared to discuss and share your reasoning of this at our Internet Workshop.
5. Terms to know Use the visual glossary http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php and navigate accordingly until you’ve defined all of the terms. Use your colored pencils and illustrate what happens with each of the following terms bedrock, oceanic spreading ridge, oceanic trench, Ring of Fire, Subduction Zone. Take the tectonics quiz http://www.geography4kids.com/extras/quiz_earthtecton/q09.html
Be prepared to communicate these terms to others, and think about the clarity and precision being used where you know they understand
6. The Theory of Plate tectonics today.
Visit any of the links at http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/enelson/tectonic.html (there are several here that don’t work so keep trying) (http://www.marine-geo.org/rmbs/ , http://www.seismo.unr.edu/index.html , http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/quakes.html ), to discover what the theory of Plate tectonics is today. Bring back any strategies that you discovered for both finding information and for critically thinking about the information you gathered at Tectonics Links. As you reflect on what you have learned about convection currents and the effect it has had on our continents, forecast what you think could happen in the future. Rubric Important information for each topic was neatly recorded, colorful illustrations were completed where necessary, labels were used.
24 points (6 x 4 =24pts)
You contributed effectively, your information during our workshop discussion session, helping us to learn about why continents are slowly drifting apart.
6 points (1 x 6 =6pts)
30 points total
You may ask, how do scientist know what Earth’s deep interior is like? After all, no one has ever seen it. To explore the interior, scientist study the energy from earthquakes or underground explosions they set off. The energy travels through earth somewhat like ripples move through a pond. The energy moves slower through less dense materials or liquids and faster through denser materials or solids. In this way, scientists infer what each layer is made of and how thick the layers are. Assuming that you have previously learned that minerals and rocks are the building blocks of Earth and that different types of rocks make up Earth’s surface, you will learn the different properties of Earth’s layers, and more so about the plates that make up those outermost layers.
http://daphne.meccahosting.com/~a0000e89/webquests/insideearth/index.html#task DUE October 22
Internet Researcher: Date_South America and Africa are drifting slowly apart. What powerful force could be moving these two plates? In this Internet Workshop, you will be introduced to and observe the movement of convection currents and you will determine how convection currents in Earth’s mantle could move tectonic plates.
How do convection currents in a fluid affect floating objects on the surface? Think about this as you learn about the activities that take place within the Earth’s layers.
You may go to http://gdms8.wikispaces.com to get this page.
http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/enelson/tectonic.html
The Theory of Continental Drift has had a long and turbulent history since it was first proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1910. Vigorously challenged yet widely ignored, the theory was considered for half a century, primarily due to its deceptive truth to support the proposed drift. With the discovery of sea-floor spreading in the late 1950's and early 60's, the idea was given new life, this time as the Theory of Plate Tectonics. Plate tectonics is now almost universally accepted, its mechanisms plausible and to a degree demonstrable. However, many details of the mechanism are yet to be worked out, and many theories involving various details of plate tectonics rest on some questionable assumptions. These links will attempt to define some of the basic principles of the mechanism, and to examine their effect on the creation of landforms. What you’ll learn are many new, and probably highly controversial, ideas presented for consideration. What is presented in these sites is a broad analysis of the basic principles that should apply to the movements of plates, some new hypotheses about how they apply to convection and landform formation, and some expected scenarios for differing tectonic events.
1. Learn about Tectonic Plates. Go to http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/dynamic.html
Dynamic Earth: The story of Plate Tectonics. Feel free to read and learn about anything here, however check out the information on “Plate Tectonics and People” and “Some Unanswered Questions”. Be prepared to discuss Mount Pinatubo, and Earths Layers. Illustrate and label all Earth layers and define the key characteristics of each.
2. What happens at a divergent boundary? What happens when tectonic plates scrape past each other at Transform Boundaries? What happens at convergent boundaries?
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0804/es0804page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization Use this site to see the actual simulation of each of the three types of boundary collisions. Then go to http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate4.htm to get an in depth description of what is really happening at each boundary. What do you find most intriguing about these events? Write down and illustrate what you learned about these types of boundaries and be prepared to sequence the events of each (continental-continental collision, oceanic-continental collision, and oceanic-oceanic plate collision) in our Internet workshop
3. Problems for ‘slow and gradual’ plate tectonics. Learn about Sea-Floor rock and Magnetic Reversals
Go to this website and scroll down to the article on “Driving the Drift”.http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=65 Take notes on what you learned and what geologist was credited for this finding. Be prepared to discuss and share your reasoning of this at our Internet Workshop.
4. Continental Drift Go to http://www.discoverourearth.org/student/tectonics/continental_drift.html
http://www.discoverourearth.org/student/tectonics/continental_drift.html
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/historical.htmland read the article. Learn about the naturalist who was credited with the theory on Continental Drift. Use an interactive map to attempt your own reconstruction of Pangea. When we join together in our Internet workshop discussion, be prepared to distinguish between the theory of seafloor spreading and continental drift.
5. Terms to know Use the visual glossary http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/glossary.php and navigate accordingly until you’ve defined all of the terms. Use your colored pencils and illustrate what happens with each of the following terms bedrock, oceanic spreading ridge, oceanic trench, Ring of Fire, Subduction Zone. Take the tectonics quiz http://www.geography4kids.com/extras/quiz_earthtecton/q09.html
Be prepared to communicate these terms to others, and think about the clarity and precision being used where you know they understand
6. The Theory of Plate tectonics today.
Visit any of the links at http://www.mines.edu/fs_home/enelson/tectonic.html (there are several here that don’t work so keep trying) (http://www.marine-geo.org/rmbs/ , http://www.seismo.unr.edu/index.html , http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/quakes.html ), to discover what the theory of Plate tectonics is today. Bring back any strategies that you discovered for both finding information and for critically thinking about the information you gathered at Tectonics Links. As you reflect on what you have learned about convection currents and the effect it has had on our continents, forecast what you think could happen in the future.
Rubric
Important information for each topic was neatly recorded, colorful illustrations were completed where necessary, labels were used.
24 points (6 x 4 =24pts)
You contributed effectively, your information during our workshop discussion session, helping us to learn about why continents are slowly drifting apart.
6 points (1 x 6 =6pts)
30 points total
You may ask, how do scientist know what Earth’s deep interior is like? After all, no one has ever seen it. To explore the interior, scientist study the energy from earthquakes or underground explosions they set off. The energy travels through earth somewhat like ripples move through a pond. The energy moves slower through less dense materials or liquids and faster through denser materials or solids. In this way, scientists infer what each layer is made of and how thick the layers are. Assuming that you have previously learned that minerals and rocks are the building blocks of Earth and that different types of rocks make up Earth’s surface, you will learn the different properties of Earth’s layers, and more so about the plates that make up those outermost layers.